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Written question asked by Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 1 July 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 3 July 2025. It was answered by Stephen Kinnock (Labour) on Thursday, 25 September 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Dental Services: Surrey

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the current NHS dentist vacancy rate is in Surrey; and what steps he is taking to ensure equitable dental care access in Epsom and Ewell constituency.

Answer

In 2024, there was a 20% vacancy rate for NHS dentists in the Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board (ICB), which includes the Epsom and Ewell constituency. We do not hold data at constituency level. More data is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/dental-workforce/

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to ICBs across England. For the Epsom and Ewell constituency, this is Surrey Heartlands ICB.

We will deliver 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments per year, and ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025. Surrey Heartlands ICB is expected to deliver 6,585 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.

The Government’s ambition is to deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
64286
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Dental services Vacancies Surrey
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk